Ummm -- Anyone around here heard of global warming?

I walk to school and back almost every time I go to school. The route is U-shaped (my apartment is at the top of a fairly steep hill on the one end and the school is at the top of another pretty steep hill on the other end), so for the less athletic folk the walk can be a bit challenging. But I love the walk for that very reason: it's a workout!

I haven't measured exactly how far it is from A to B, but I know it's about 2 km, or about 1.25 miles. And I know that it takes me anywhere from 15-30 minutes to cover the distance, depending on how fast I walk (or jog). The walk to school and back is therefore a fantastic way for me to get some daily moderate exercise without really trying.

Most of the time when I walk to school, I am joined by one of my neighbors, Moto (as I mentioned in an earlier blog). What really blows my mind, and actually makes me a bit angry, to tell you the truth, is that almost all the other teachers and staff members, many of whom are my other neighbors, drive to school. And I don't mean carpool, either. Each teacher drives his or her own car to work. That, my friends, is insane!

I live in an apartment building with 16 units, each of which is designed for a family (of four?). There's another apartment building about 50 meters away, just down the hill, with 6 units, each of which is designed for singles. Each unit houses someone who works at my school.
So I guess that means roughly half of the staff lives where I live. So you'd think it'd be just as easy for them to walk to school as is it for me and Moto. But they drive to work.

There's another apartment building even closer to school that houses at least four of our staff members. The walk from there must take only 10 minutes, tops. But guess what? Yes, those staff members drive to school, too, most of the time. I don't get it.

Once in a while, a third neighbor joins Moto and me on our walk to school, so I have to give him some (carbon) credit. But most of the time he drives to school.

And about a month ago, I could hardly believe my eyes when I noticed two other teachers walking to school. But, alas, there was a catch: It was snowing and they didn't want to risk getting into a car accident. (One of the two was even the "lunch lady," for crying out loud. If anyone should be walking, it's her! Not because she's overweight, which she isn't, but because she's highly responsible for our health.)

The whole driving-short-distances business gets much worse, however. A few weeks ago, for example, I attended a festival at the local elementary school. One of my neighbors kindly invited me. (His children, as well as the children of several of my other neighbors, attend the school). I can see the school from my balcony. It must have taken me no more than 5 minutes to get there, on foot of course. But guess how my neighbors got there? Yes, by car! Can you believe that?

Another example of this insanity of driving short distances: On Tuesdays I attend a calligraphy class (more on that some other day). The classes are held at the teacher's home, which is probably a whopping 500 meters from my apartment. One of my neighbors' two kids attend the class. (It's actually a class for kids!). I walk (or jog). There and back. It takes 5 minutes. Max. How do the kids get there? Their mother drives them. And then she drives back home and returns by car an hour later to pick them up. That drives me up the wall (pun intended).

Ironically, however, all of the elementary school kids who live where I do walk to school on a regular basis. And I've even seen kids walking from the local junior high school to get to practice at the baseball field next to my school, which must be about a 30-minute walk. And school children riding bikes to school is a common sight all over Japan. So does that mean that young kids are the role models here, not adults? Hmmm..

Oh, and I often see people park their cars at the mini grocery store in town who then run inside for just a couple minutes of shopping. There's nothing unusual or disturbing about that. Except that they leave the engine running.

To foster greater awareness of global warming, and perhaps make some more friends, I'm thinking about asking my neighbors to walk to work with Moto and me at least once a week. I don't think the idea will achieve very much, because most people are set in their ways. But maybe, somehow, I can convince a couple or even a few more teachers to walk to school regularly. And then we can add "global warming" to the local lingo.